Nowadays, influencers are all around us, and very few big brands are without them – but why? Influencers can help to generate sales, create content and help to build brand awareness and relationships. Moreover, they are a trusted voice with authority and influence (hence the name). They are also expert communicators, however, it is important to choose the right influencer for your brand if you’re going to make the right impact.
Find influencers who share similar values :
While an influencer may be amazing at promoting one thing, they may not be so great at promoting what your brand is about. Be careful to avoid a mismatched partnership. The influencer you decide on should be a person who shares like-minded values and displays the same tone of voice. Before you associate your brand with this person, be sure that their ideas and the way they speak coincide with your brand.
Research different types of influencers :
Thoroughly research influencers and look at their previous activity. It’s important that you don’t let someone you drafted in to help, damage your brand’s reputation! An influencer isn’t a one-size-fits-all by any means. There are many different kinds of influencers and those you engage, to engage your audience, will depend on the size and end-goal of your campaign.
Micro-influencers often have a smaller search of 1,000-50,000 followers, within a niche community. This kind of network, however, tends to demonstrate a high level of engagement, as well as trust. On the other hand, expert influencers are thought leaders in their chosen field and include bloggers, executives and, sometimes, members of the mass media. Expert influencers are believed to be credible sources and lead new trends while delivering their thoughts on relevant topics and current affairs.
Frequency :
More often than not, there is a direct correlation between how frequently a blogger posts and their traffic to the rate of return visitors. Like with the marketing of any website, it can take several exposures before a visitor clicks and bounces on your site – this is when it’s important to make sure they return. If you are publishing high-quality content regularly, visitors are far more likely to not only return, but also bookmark and share, whereas bloggers who only post every now and then have fewer return visitors, and therefore less loyalty.
Authenticity :
Although it may sound a little ironic, bloggers from an Instagram Influencer Agency with a smaller ratio of sponsored content tend to be well trusted and appear more authentic – the importance of saying no is paramount. Similarly, personal stories that include genuine use or mention a service, product or brand are also more trusted than black and white product reviews.
It also helps when influencers personalise a story or product as this helps to make the post more compelling and engaging. In turn, this equates to more shares and comments than plain deals and product reviews. We understand the temptation of business owners to request lengthy reviews, however, although readers don’t always pay too much attention to this.
For example, a sports brand is far more likely to engage more readers if they discuss something like a ‘bucket list’ and how that list is in turn about staying active and motivated, rather than simply discussing the variables of trainers. Such content is both engaging for the audience and authentic for the influencer and your brand – it can even evoke discussion among readers.
Regardless of your niche though, be sure to also engage with bloggers from time to time, in order to create quality and authentic content for your audience and make sure that your brand stays associated with the relevant themes.
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